Omayma Abdel-Latif reports from Beirut on the silent war between Hizbullah and the Lebanese government over reconstruction It is a familiar scene in Al-Dahiya. Hizbullah member of parliament Hussein Al-Haj Hassan strolls through Bir Al-Abd, in what is now known as the "destroyed area", once the site of Hizbullah's headquarters, Al-Manar TV and the houses of many Hizbullah leaders. He speaks with those Dahiya residents who are collecting whatever personal belongings they can salvage from their destroyed homes. "This is my daughter's doll," says one woman; another points to the charred remains of her books. "All our houses have been destroyed," Haj Hassan tells one of the residents. "My wife is staying at her sister's. We are all suffering the same." Hizbullah is spearheading post-war reconstruction work in Al-Dahiya through its civilian NGO Jihad Al-Binaa, an organisation of 1,500 engineers. For visitors coming to Beirut Al-Dahiya has become a must see, though no photo can capture the magnitude of destruction that has been inflicted on this southern suburb. UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan paid a visit to Al-Dahiya on Monday. The Italian foreign minister, the emir of Qatar and foreign delegations have also been touring the ruins. Almost a week after the end of hostilities Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora also paid a visit, following harsh criticism directed against the Lebanese government for its failure to address the issue of reconstruction and rebuilding fast enough. Minister of Social Affairs Nayla Maoud, a member of the pro-American 14th March camp and a staunch opponent of Hizbullah, has been accused by some of being behind what is perceived as official reluctance to address the compensation issue, the aim being to pressure Hizbullah in what is very much a Hizbullah constituency. "There is a perception among many that the government does not want to help in any way because it blames Hizbullah for causing the destruction," explains a Hizbullah member. "Privately they are saying that Hizbullah should rebuild destroyed homes with the money it gets from Iran." Many residents say Al-Siniora's visit was too little, too late. After he toured the area where Hizbullah's offices were located he described the destruction as yet another sign of "Israeli barbarity and criminality". The visit, said his aides, was intended to assess the damage and explore the ways in which his government could assist in the reconstruction efforts. The visit, though, could not conceal the ongoing battle between the government and Hizbullah over how to tackle reconstruction. When Hizbullah acted quickly, offering $12,000 to those who had lost their homes, the group was accused of acting as a state within a state. Hizbullah's housing scheme was seen by some as an attempt to weaken central government and buy the loyalty of its constituents, or their silence, as one minister charged. In response, Hizbullah officials lashed out at what they called "the absent state" on Al-Manar TV. Two weeks after the ceasefire they "still have no contingency plans for reconstruction in the south or in Al-Dahiya," said one. Sheikh Naim Qassim, Hizbullah's deputy secretary-general, says the party decided to intervene because "Ramadan and school year were just around the corner and we knew it would take time for the state to act." In Dahiya Jihad Al-Binna has been working hard since the end of hostilities to clear roads and take away the rubble. This week the organisation completed its survey of all residential units and has put up posters in Al-Dahiya instructing residents to report for compensation. "Waiting for the state to come has proved futile," said Abu Mahdi, an engineer with Jihad Al-Binaa. "In two weeks the ministry has not sent a single tractor to remove the rubble." Hizbullah member Abu Mahdi denies that the party is acting as a state within a state. "Al-Sayid [Hassan Nasrallah] pledged that for every building destroyed a new one will be reconstructed and we are only fulfilling that promise." Abu Mahdi points out that the work is being carried out mostly by volunteers who are not necessarily members of Hizbullah. "It is a mistake to think of Al-Dahiya as a Shia hinterland. True, there are a majority of Shia but there are also Sunnis, Druze and Christians, and they have all been compensated by Hizbullah." Engineers belonging to the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) were also contributing to reconstruction work both in Al-Dahiya and in the south of Lebanon, where a delegation went to assess the damage on Monday. At least 15,000 residential units must be rebuilt in Al-Dahiya alone. Al-Fadl Shalaq, former head of the Development and Reconstruction Council, a body formed by late prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri, said the damage suffered by Lebanon during the Israeli onslaught exceeded that sustained during the 1975- 1990 Civil War. Shalaq was forced to resign last week from the council following a rift with Al-Siniora and his departure has led to speculation about the fate of the reconstruction effort given what both Hizbullah and the FPM characterise as a complete lack of transparency on the part of the government. Some Arab countries have offered to fund the reconstruction of towns in the south. Qatar has said it will finance the rebuilding of Bint Jbeil and Al-Khyam, two of the hardest hit towns. The Iranian foreign minister was also due in Beirut to discuss aid to the Lebanese government. But many Lebanese fear that reconstruction could lead to a repeat of the situation in the early 1990s when Al-Hariri's ambitious plans left Lebanon with external debts estimated at $40 billion. In an interview with New TV on Sunday, Hizbullah Secretary-General Nasrallah stressed the issue of compensation alongside that of reconstruction, throwing the ball firmly in the government's court by saying Hizbullah would wait until the government declared its own position before determining its own contributions.
